THIS WEEKEND After
being off the case for six years, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker raced back
into theaters with their cross-cultural cop buddy action sequel Rush
Hour 3 and captured the number one spot. The new fantasy film
Stardust opened to disappointing results
in fourth place while the weekend's other new titles Daddy
Day Camp and Skinwalkers
were virtually ignored by moviegoers. But overall, the North American box
office remained robust posting a gain of more than 20% over last year for
the third session in a row.

New Line hit the top spot for the first time in a year with its action-comedy
franchise hit Rush Hour 3 which bowed
to $49.1M, according to final studio
figures. Playing ultrawide in 3,778 sites, the PG-13 film averaged a strong
$12,996 per theater. It was the fourth biggest opening ever in the month
of August trailing The Bourne Ultimatum
($69.3M last weekend), Rush Hour 2
($67.4M in 2001), and Signs ($60.1M
in 2002). While a powerful debut, Rush Hour 3
showed that the franchise has suffered some audience erosion.
The opening weekend gross was 27% smaller than Rush
Hour 2's and factoring in six years of ticket price increases,
the bow would be about 37% weaker.

In the new saga, Chan and Tucker reteam to fight a Chinese organized
crime syndicate in Paris. Critics were overwhelmingly negative on the film
stating that the characters have overstayed their welcome and that Tucker,
who has not done any films over the last nine years other than the Rush
Hour pics, held up part three because of his salary demands.
But audiences came out for the action and the comedy and should soon push
the film over the $100M mark in the coming weeks.

After its record-breaking opening, The Bourne
Ultimatum dropped a reasonable 53% to $32.9M and boosted its
ten-day tally to $131.6M. The hold was about even with the 54% decline
that The Bourne Supremacy experienced
in its sophomore session three years ago when it faced The
Village which bowed to the same numbers as Rush
Hour 3. Ultimatum marks
the 13th summer film to cross the $100M mark this year compared to ten
at this same point last year. With few good action pictures left this summer,
the latest Matt Damon assassin pic should cruise to $210-220M making it
the top-grossing installment in the popular spy series.

The Simpsons Movie fell another
55% in its third outing to $11.3M. That put the 17-day total at $152.4M
for Fox with a final tally of around $175M likely.

The $70M fantasy adventure Stardust found
little magic at the box office in its opening weekend and collected just
$9.2M in ticket sales. Averaging a mild $3,610 from 2,540 locations, the
PG-13 fairy tale pic starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Claire
Danes found itself in fourth place. Reviews were mostly positive, but that
did little to boost its performance at the cash registers.

The musical Hairspray once again
enjoyed the best hold in the top ten dipping only 31% to $6.4M in its fourth
frame. With a robust $92.1M in the bank, the New Line hit looks to reach
the neighborhood of $110M. In its second weekend, Buena Vista's Underdog
fell 45% to $6.4M as well to push its ten-day tally to $24.6M. A $40M final
gross seems likely.

The Adam Sandler comedy I Now Pronounce You
Chuck and Larry followed with $5.9M, down 45%, for a cume of
$103.8M becoming the comedian's eighth $100M+ hit. Look for Universal to
conclude its run with about $117M. Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix fell 43% to $5.4M lifting the domestic
total to $272M making it the third biggest wizard pic after the first and
fourth installments. Overseas, the latest Hogwarts tale hit the $550M mark
propelling the global tally to an eye-popping $822M. Warner Bros. stablemate
No Reservations was close behind with
$3.9M, off 42%, for a $32M sum. Final grosses should reach $285M and $40M,
respectively.

Sony saw almost no takers for its kidpic sequel Daddy
Day Camp which flopped in its opening weekend grossing $3.4M
from 2,332 theaters for a miserable $1,459 average. The PG-rated film stars
Cuba Gooding Jr. stepping in for Eddie Murphy who is currently having daddy
issues of his own. Murphy drove its predecessor Daddy
Day Care to a $104.3M gross in 2003. Since its Wednesday opening,
Camp has collected just $4.9M in its
first five days which is less than what Care
grossed in just its opening day alone.

Barely a blip on the radar in its opening weekend was the horror entry
Skinwalkers with $753,520 from 745
theaters for an awful $1,011 average for After Dark Films.

Three pictures fell from the top ten over the weekend. The Paramount/DreamWorks
sensation Transformers grossed $3.2M
in its sixth frame, off 46%, and boosted its stellar cume to $302.9M. The
$145M-budgeted blockbuster looks to end its domestic run with about $310M.
Worldwide, it has already grossed over $600M with more markets still to
open. Transformers currently sits at
number 26 on the list of all-time domestic blockbusters and hopes to surpass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
to become the third biggest hit of the summer after Spider-Man
3 and Shrek the Third.

Two of last weekend's poor openers tumbled in their sophomore frames.
The Andy Samberg comedy Hot Rod dropped
58% to $2.2M for a total of only $11M for Paramount. Lionsgate's girlpower
flick Bratz stumbled 66% to $1.4M for
a pitiful $7.6M sum. Final grosses should reach $14M and $10M, respectively.

The top ten films grossed $133.7M which was up 29% from last year when
Talladega Nights remained in first
place with $22.1M; and up 33% from 2005 when Four
Brothers debuted in the top spot with $21.2M.

Compared to projections, Rush Hour 3
came in below my $61M forecast while Stardust
was close to my $11M prediction. Daddy Day Camp
and Skinwalkers also opened below my
respective projections of $8M and $1.5M.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of
the author.